Quality of life and academic performance of University of the Free State first-year Health Sciences students

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Abstract

An in-depth study was carried out to investigate the quality of life of first-year health
sciences students and to determine the correlation between quality of life and academic
performance. The results of this study could be used to address challenges related to quality
of life and academic performance in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the
Free State (UFS) in South Africa.
A few studies have been performed internationally (outside South Africa) to evaluate quality
of life in certain health sciences (mainly medical and nursing) students. A direct relationship
between the quality of life and academic performance of preclinical medical students (first
three study years) was found in a study performed in Saudi Arabia.
First-year students, in general, are a population that faces physical health, psychological
and social challenges, which are caused by the transition from high school to university
learning, and these students need to learn how to balance academic workload and their
personal lives. No studies have been done at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS to
investigate the quality of life of first-year health sciences students using the WHOQOL-BREF
questionnaire. A few studies have been conducted outside South Africa to evaluate
differences in the quality of life of students who reside in either on-campus or off-campus
accommodation, but not at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS.
The problem that was addressed by this study is the lack of information regarding the
quality of life of first-year students enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS.
Diverse quality of life factors may impact their academic performance.
The aim of the study was to measure quality of life by means of the WHOQOL-BREF
questionnaire and to determine the correlation of quality of life scores with the academic
performance of UFS first-year health sciences students.
This research study conducted a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design. A survey
was used to collect the data by means of a questionnaire. The research methods comprised
a literature study, completion of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, as well as gathering
demographic and academic performance information about the respondents.
The quality of life of students in the various health sciences disciplines, who reside in either
on-campus and off-campus residences, was measured and the correlation between their
quality of life and academic performance was determined. The study revealed that the
overall quality of life and health of students at the Faculty of Health Sciences, UFS, was
good. The quality of life domain score order varied in the schools and academic programmes
of the Faculty of Health Sciences, for on-campus and off-campus students and students
who had lived in either urban or non-urban (rural) areas before attending university. The
10 most prominent facets of the four quality of life domains were the following: sleep and
rest; energy and fatigue; work capacity; thinking, learning, memory and concentration;
negative feelings; bodily image and appearance; sexual activity; freedom, physical safety
and security; participation in and opportunities for recreation/leisure activities and physical
environment.
The findings of the study could make a valuable contribution to the knowledge base about
the quality of life of first-year health sciences students, and could assist the researcher and
other health care professionals to address challenges related to students’ quality of life and
academic performance.